


Thumbs to the Sky

by wardo_wedidit



Category: Social Network (2010) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Regency, M/M, Married Couple, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-15 00:43:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wardo_wedidit/pseuds/wardo_wedidit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite everyone's opinions, Andrew could not be happier to be married to Jesse, and he never feels it more than at night in their bed, holding him close.  (A Regency AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thumbs to the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Because I literally had a dream about Regency!Era Andrew and Jesse cuddled up in bed together, and then this happened. Title from [Wanted](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpWj5B_ecMo), the Joshua Radin song.

Andrew’s favorite part of the day is after everyone has retired to their rooms. 

Because, as wonderful as it is to see Jesse smile at him with bright blue, beautiful eyes, or to hold his hand, or to tug one of his curls just to make him smile, nothing compares to holding Jesse in his arms.

It’s striking him as much as ever tonight as Jesse walks in, wearing a shy smile, shivering a little in his nightshirt. He is beautiful as ever at this hour, lit only by the few candles on the nightstand in a way that colors his curls golden and makes the rest of him seemingly _glow._ It makes Andrew’s heart do cartwheels. 

Andrew is already on his own side of the bed, sitting propped against some pillows, reading a novel that Jesse would almost certainly declare “utterly pedestrian” in an entirely teasing, unmeant manner. He leans over towards Jesse’s side with a smile after depositing the book on the nightstand, extending a hand. “Come here,” he says, whining a little to get Jesse to roll his eyes affectionately. 

Jesse takes his hand as he crawls under the quilt and layers of sheets, still shivering and curling immediately into Andrew’s side. Andrew settles an arm around his shoulders, rubbing his upper arm quickly in hopes that the movement may warm him. “Better?” he asks, smiling a little when Jesse nods against his chest. Andrew chuckles. “I thought I’d get it warmed up for you.”

Jesse laughs softly, left hand resting lightly over Andrew’s heart. “You know, we _are_ technically supposed to have separate bedrooms,” he remarks, teasing a little. 

“ _Technically_ we do,” Andrew responds immediately. “They’re just adjoining, and yours is usually empty.” He can feel Jesse’s smile bloom against his skin, feels it echo all the way through him in the way his chest churns with warmth. 

“Polite society would be scandalized,” Jesse replies, but his tone is teasing, and Andrew’s chest loosens. 

He’s still a little bitter-- _protective_ might be a better word for it--after that whole ordeal. Their marriage definitely put them on the outs with “polite society”... or in their case, not-so-polite society. Which, Andrew really could _not_ care less about, but had wounded Jesse, perhaps more than Andrew expected, but understandably so. Jesse had grown up in that environment a lot more than Andrew had. It had involved discussions of the latest satire and politics around many a dinner table (while Andrew’s main topic of conversation at those sorts of things were his failed attempt at university, the war, and riding), all the while getting to know the people who would later turn their noses up at his marriage. Andrew tightens his arm around Jesse’s shoulders at the thought, remembering his ashen face as they had looked over the guest list for the wedding, taking in the large discrepancy when compared to all the invites they sent out. 

Jesse picks up on this sudden shift, straightening a little to look at Andrew’s face, reaching up to smooth out the worry lines wrinkling between Andrew’s brow with his thumb. Andrew smiles reflexively when their eyes meet, and Jesse smiles back just as quickly. Andrew leans in to press a kiss to his husband’s forehead, and Jesse lets out a contented sigh. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he murmurs. 

But that’s just the problem. Andrew _tries_ not to; really, he does. In the end, it just always turns about to be impossible. They’ve been married almost a year--Andrew had (regrettably, somewhat naively) hoped that things would be back to normal by now. He just doesn’t like to see Jesse hurting. 

“I’m not hurting,” Jesse protests (answering so quickly Andrew can’t discern if he said that out loud or if Jesse somehow learned to read minds), nuzzling his face into Andrew’s neck. “I have you.”

The words are soft and secret against Andrew’s skin, and he relaxes a little. “I have you too,” he exhales back, love swelling inside him. 

They have never had a problem showing each other affection, even in times when they probably should have been a little more cautious. But that’s something that Andrew loves about their relationship, that Jesse can get so wrapped up in it sometimes that he’ll momentarily forget his manners. More often than not it is just little things, but Andrew cherishes them all the same--when Jesse will rest his head on Andrew’s shoulder while they dance, say “my husband” in a tone that makes it clear he is obviously infatuated, every once in a while when he will lean over to press a quick, light kiss to Andrew’s lips, and the loon on his face when he pulls back. Andrew knows on some level that he _should_ care about how they’re perceived, what with just starting to be invited to dinners or balls again and whatnot, but mostly all he can think about is the Jesse who stuttered at him when they first met, how different and confident _his_ Jesse is now. 

It had taken a lot for them both to get there. But Andrew had been _fascinated_ by Jesse from the very beginning, wanted to just pick his brain and talk to him forever. This had confused Jesse for some reason, leading him to believe that Andrew was some sort of odd, eccentric, spoiled heir who just liked the toy with people, instead of what he really was: completely head over heels, from the start. 

This had resulted in a lot of determination on Andrew’s part, to not give up every time Jesse acted thrown when Andrew wanted to talk to him, to keep coming back even when there were only the smallest hints that Jesse was interested in him. There were enormous amounts of bravery on Jesse’s part too--to allow himself to open up, let the walls come down, and let himself be _known_ by Andrew. 

Their courtship had seemingly lasted an _eternity_ to Andrew, who didn’t have an overwhelming amount of patience in the first place, but some of his favorite memories are also from that time in their lives. He almost misses it, some days. Jesse’s blush when Andrew would compliment him, days spent touring museums together and the way Jesse’s face looked when he was completely fixed on looking at a piece of art, the picnics that Andrew stole Jesse away for. Their first kiss, under a secluded tree on Jesse’s family grounds while they waited out the rain. 

As much as he may get nostalgic for those past days at times, Andrew would never _actually_ want to go back there. He likes getting to wear a ring on his finger that says he belongs to Jesse and knows that Jesse’s says the same; he loves the domesticity and permanency of their relationship. He loves that he _knows_ Jesse now, on a deeper level, has spent many nights together in bed talking about anything and everything, until the candle slowly grew shorter beside them. 

He doesn’t think that will be the case tonight though, as Jesse noses at his chin playfully, making Andrew laugh, loud with his head thrown back. Jesse grins, bright and full, so much more than the small, generic one he uses when there are other people around. This is _Andrew’s_ smile, complete with dimples, that only comes out in the best, intimate moments like this. It is the smile that Andrew will always associate with being down on one knee in the library, Jesse wiping at his eyes. 

Now that look seems to slow them for a moment, freezing them in place. Their breaths catch almost simultaneously, and they both move at once. Jesse surges in to kiss Andrew fully on the lips while Andrew pulls him in close, Jesse moving so that he’s sitting in Andrew’s lap, shins bracketing Andrew’s thighs. It all draws a needy whimper from Andrew’s mouth, clutching at the small of Jesse’s back as Jesse holds his face in his hands, kissing him thoroughly. 

“ _Andrew_ ,” he finally says when they pull back, breathless, as Andrew drags his nails along Jesse’s exposed thighs and up underneath his nightclothes, smoothing his touch over the flat of Jesse’s stomach, pressing a kiss to the hollow of his collarbone. Jesse groans a little needily as Andrew rucks up his nightshirt even _further,_ wanting it off completely, though obligingly sitting back to lift it over his head. 

“ _Jess_ ,” Andrew gasps, wrapping an arm around his back and pulling him in close to kiss him again, a moan escaping his lips as Jesse licks into his mouth. Jesse shivers then, and Andrew can feel the goosebumps on his skin and know that it is not arousal but cold from being naked, smiling into Jesse’s mouth and _rolling_ them both so that Jesse is underneath, savoring the hitch in Jesse’s breath. 

Jesse whines a little as Andrew tongues over his pulse point before he moves to nibble lightly at the skin behind Jesse’s ear. “Want you,” he exhales, which makes something unexplainable rumble in Andrew’s chest as he scrapes his nails down Jesse’s side, leaving white tracks that slowly turn red in his wake. He lifts his head, brushing his lips messily over Jesse’s flushed cheek before finding his lips, swallowing up every noise Jesse makes. 

They just kiss for a while, letting their hands roam until Jesse starts arching his hips to rut against Andrew, seeking friction. Andrew pulls away from the kiss, smiling at Jesse’s responding whine, to fit two of his fingers into Jesse’s mouth. Jesse’s eyes flutter shut as he sucks on them, swirling his tongue around, and Andrew finds himself swallowing dryly, steeling himself. 

Somewhere he finds the strength to pull them away, and Jesse is panting a little. “Come on,” he murmurs as Andrew fumbles a hand between them, circling Jesse’s entrance lightly, “Come on, come on,” he repeats, even softer, clutching at Andrew’s back. 

“I know,” Andrew breathes back, pushing Jesse’s curls off his forehead with his unoccupied hand, slipping a finger inside at the same time, making Jesse arch up, back bowed against the bed. “Jess, I’ve got you,” he says, voice going thick with feeling. 

Jesse hums, eyes closed as he shifts his hips, both of them trying to get the angle right. Finally they do, and Jesse moans softly, fingers tightening on Andrew’s biceps. Andrew skims the spot again and again, unable to stop looking at Jesse’s flushed, beautiful, much-loved face, breaths gasping, face slack with pleasure. 

“Fuck me,” Jesse says after a while. “Andrew, please.” His voice is low and crackling with need, and Andrew can’t resist any longer. 

“Okay, okay,” he says, breathless, feeling both nervous and silly for it. He doesn’t think that little bit of shaky anxiety will ever leave him though, honestly, because Jesse is the most precious thing in the universe and he’s entrusting himself to _Andrew_ , and that will always be a heady, trembling thrill. 

Jesse’s hands go to Andrew’s waist, underneath his nightshirt and tugging it up, impatient. It gets tangled as Andrew tries to get his arms out, and it takes him longer than it should to get it off. When he finally succeeds, Jesse is laughing so hard that no sound is even coming out, stomach jumping with it. Andrew laughs too, craning down to press a closed-mouth kiss to Jesse’s lips, almost chaste. 

“Don’t laugh at me,” he pouts playfully, the teasing not quite chasing away his smile. Jesse catches onto it and smiles back. 

“I can’t help it if you’re absolutely ridiculous,” Jesse replies, running his thumb back and forth slowly across Andrew’s hipbone, in not-quite a caress. 

Andrew frowns again, over-exaggerated and unmeant, and Jesse grins up at him, which always makes Andrew give in, so he grins back. 

“Finally,” Jesse sighs as Andrew grips him by the hips, pulling him in. Andrew smiles small, leaning in to press a kiss to Jesse’s forehead before pushing inside in one long, unbroken thrust. 

He stills for a moment, giving Jesse a second to adjust. He watches Jesse’s face carefully, archiving each flicker of emotion that crosses his features, from a moment of pain to surprise and settling on bliss. Then Jesse’s eyes open slowly--a little more unfocused now, softer, a plea inside them. He splays his fingers across the small of Andrew’s back, a reassuring pressure, before whispering with a lopsided smile, “Move.”

Andrew does as he is told. 

Jesse sighs and moans as Andrew drives into him again and again, and finally Andrew kisses his cheeks and shushes him, not only because he knows Jesse would be embarrassed if someone else heard them but because this is something he wants to keep for _himself_. Jesse nods with his lip caught between his teeth, clearly beyond words at the moment. “I love you,” he gasps, words drawing out in a whine when Andrew fumbles a hand over his cock. 

That’s all it takes for Jesse to come; Andrew doesn’t even get a stroke in. Jesse pushes his face into Andrew’s neck and gasps hotly against his skin, and Andrew is _so weak_ to that, every time. So it is only a couple more hard thrusts until he’s coming too, eyes squeezed shut and entire body tingling, before he collapses against Jesse’s chest, breathing hard.

Jesse rubs a hand lightly over Andrew’s back, humming soft and tunelessly, pressing a kiss to his forehead, his nose, each cheek, and then his lips. He pushes Andrew’s hair off his sweaty forehead, tips Andrew’s chin up with his forefinger, and smiles. Andrew smiles back, eyes stinging a little before he has to hide his face in Jesse’s shoulder and breathe out, slow. 

After he’s composed enough, he pushes himself up on wobbly elbows to pull out and roll over onto his back, Jesse following, cuddling into his side. It is silent for a moment between them, chirping crickets outside. 

“How do you think polite society would feel about _that_?” Andrew teases, poking Jesse gently in the side. 

Jesse laughs, squirming a little. “Why, we’re a married couple; they could say nothing about it,” he replies, playing along right back. Andrew throws an arm around him, giving him a squeeze, chuckling a little. 

Sometimes it is like this between them. The gravity can become heavy in a moment, and then mere minutes later, they’ll be back to playful banter. 

Andrew never knew love would feel like this. The novels always made it seem like this huge, overwhelming thing that make it difficult to breathe. And sometimes it is like that, of course, but it can also be incredibly comfortable, worn-in, _warm_. 

“Do you want your shirt?” Jesse asks, pulling Andrew out of his thoughts, face tilted up to see him better. 

“No,” Andrew replies, shaking his head a little. “It’s too hot for that tonight.” Summer is creeping up on them, spring slipping away--not to mention the fact that they’re both currently sweaty and flushed from their recent activities. 

Jesse starts to move away at the words, like he can sense what Andrew is thinking, but Andrew tightens his grip and holds him in place. “You’re not going anywhere,” he says, smile in his voice. 

“Clingy,” Jesse yawns, just as playful, but he settles back into his spot easily so Andrew can tell he really doesn’t mind. 

The candlelight flickers, crickets chirp, and their breaths even out. 

“I love you too,” Andrew murmurs back at last as his eyelids slip closed. 

He feels Jesse squeeze his hand at the words, thumbing over the gold band on Andrew’s finger. Andrew smiles sleepily, thinking how lucky he is that he gets to fall asleep next to Jesse every night for the rest of his life.


End file.
